LESSONS✨ - What if the thing that is going on in your life is happening FOR you not TO you. When you change that one little word our whole world changes. - Why is this happening FOR me? [ vs why is this happening TO me? ] - It takes some time – time gathering, digging, learning, exploring, experimenting – to understand what the things we’re going through mean and what gifts they have (FOR us). Especially when it comes to things going on in the body. We’re not taught how to decode the messages of our body. - Our symptoms are the way our bodies speak to us. Saying ‘Hey! Something’s not right here please look at this!’ When we look at it this way, how powerful is it that our body is trying to speak to us, not fail us? - This is what I do: I help you decode what is going on in your body and why it’s happening. And if I can tell you one thing it’s rarely ever JUST about the food. It’s the thoughts, emotions, stories, and lies we’re feeding ourselves. Ones we’ve learned and carried and may not even be aware of. That put stress on the body in a way that we’ve grown used to carrying. That only gets heavier with our busy lives rushing from thing to thing with little time for rest or restoring. (Because we’re told doing nothing is lazy, not productive, useless). - The root cause – like the deep underlying reason – for most of our health problems isn’t that we don’t know how to eat right or exercise enough. It’s imbalances that build in our bodies from emotional + physical stress & confusion about what to do because we’re taught to shove pain away, pop a pill, eat less, exercise more, and not feel. - So what do we do? Step one – just start listening. Listen to what your body is saying to you. Make 2 lists: one with everything that is working in your life, the other with everything that is not. This will help you identify where to start first. - Your heart is always whispering to you we just drown it out with too much noise. If you’re looking for guidance on your health journey, schedule a free 20 minute intro call – link in my bio 🌻#composednutrition - 📷: @morganharpernichols
GF CHOCOLATE BERRY MUFFINS❤️✨ - One of the #1 things I talk to my clients about is blood sugar balance – it’s so important to support our mood, helps ease anxiety (sometimes it’s stress/stuff going on but sometimes it’s really just low blood sugar = hangry), and to support energy levels (anyone sick of saying hi to that 3pm slump? 🙋🏻‍♀️) - So how do you balance blood sugar? 1️⃣Eat something every 4-6 hours (no big gaps between meals) 2️⃣Have fat, fiber, + protein at meals + snacks. It’s really that simple.✨ - These muffins are packed with protein (collagen, almonds, flax), fiber (almonds, flax, banana, oats), & healthy fat (flax, almonds, coconut flakes, ghee). Perfect for Valentine’s Day – make for yourself (celebrate self-love!) or to share. ❤️ [ and makes great meal prep! ] - RECIPE 2 tbsp Ground Flax Seed (+ 5 Tbsp water for flax egg) 1/2 cup Almonds (I used dry roasted but you can use raw) 1/2 cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes 3/4 cup All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour 1/2 cup Oats 2 scoops @vitalproteins Chocolate Blackberry Collagen Peptides 1 tsp Baking Soda 1/3 cup Water 1 1/2 Banana (Ripe, Mashed) 1 tbsp @fourthandheart Ghee 1 cup Raspberries (Fresh or Frozen) - 1️⃣Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin with coconut oil spray. 2️⃣In a small bowl combine flax seed and water and set aside to form flax egg. 3️⃣Add whole almonds and coconut flakes to a blender and blend briefly until ground and flour-like. 4️⃣In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients: almond + coconut blend, gluten-free flour, oats, collagen peptides, and baking soda. 5️⃣In a small bowl combine flax egg, mashed banana, vanilla ghee, and vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add 1/3 cup water (if needed). Stir in raspberries to muffin batter. 6️⃣Divide batter evenly among 9 muffin cups (about 1/3 cup - 1/2 cup each) 7️⃣Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned on top and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing from muffin tin. - #composednutrition ❤️
SATURDAY BRUNCH 🍓🍳 - One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is make a huge breakfast ✔️✨ - PICTURED: VEGGIE OMELET: ½ orange pepper 3 baby bella mushrooms 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 tsp @fourthandheart ghee 5 eggs, whisked 1 slice @violife_foods smoked vegan cheese 1 tsp dried basil salt + pepper Saute peppers + mushrooms in olive oil until soft on medium high. Add ghee. Add eggs and top with basil, salt, pepper, and vegan cheese (break into pieces). When edges are cooked (about 3-5 minutes, flip in half and cook the rest of the way through. - GRILLED SPICED GRAPEFRUIT 1 grapefruit, sliced in half 1 Tbsp coconut oil 1 tsp cinnamon Top grapefruit with coconut oil + cinnamon, place in toaster oven + broil for 5 mins. - BLUEBERRY MUFFINS Search composednutrition.com for Composed Blueberry Muffins – SO good, like a mix of banana bread + blueberry muffins and are gluten-free. - CHOCOLATE BERRY MUFFINS Recipe coming soon (made with @vitalproteins Chocolate Blackberry collagen peptides) - CASHEW LATTES Blend ¼ cup cashews + 1 cup water + 1 Tbsp coconut cream + 1 scoop @vitalproteins collagen + 1 tsp cinnamon + dash of stevia, add to mug (makes 2 servings) + fill with coffee - Are you sweet or savory or both for brunch? 🍓🍳 #composednutrition
RED LENTIL PASTA W/ VEGAN ROASTED RED PEPPER SAUCE 🌶 - It’s really amazing how easy making your own homemade sauce can be! This sauce is only FIVE ingredients + packed with healthy fat + protein. I love red lentil pasta for a gluten-free + high protein (14 g in 2 oz serving!) alternative to regular pasta 👌🏼 - This is also a great recipe if you’re seed cycling. Seed cycling is an approach where you cycle different seeds throughout the month as a way to support a healthy menstrual cycle. You include 1 Tbsp of pumpkin + flax seeds each day during the first half of your cycle (day 1 – day 13 where day 1 = the first day of your period; menstrual + follicular phases) to help boost estrogen and include 1 Tbsp of sesame + sunflower seeds each during the second half of your cycle (day 14 – 28 or ovulation + luteal phases) to help boost progesterone, the hormone dominant in the second half of the cycle.🌀 - RECIPE •12 ozs Red Lentil Pasta (1 package) •1/4 cup Pumpkin Seeds •1/2 cup Cashews •1 Red Bell Pepper (Roasted, Jar) •1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil •Sea Salt & Black Pepper (To Taste) - 1.Cook red lentil pasta according to package instructions. 2.In a blender add roasted red pepper, pumpkin seeds, cashews, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Blend to form a sauce. Add sauce to pasta. Top with black pepper. - Have you tried seed cycling to support your hormones? ✨ #composednutrition
EASY GF CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP ✨ - 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 yellow onion, chopped 1 head celery, chopped 2 cups carrots + turnips, chopped 2 cups russet potatoes, chopped 2 organic chicken breasts (you can use fresh or frozen) 1 can coconut milk ~4 cans water (estimated – using the coconut milk can) 1 Tbsp dried oregano few sprigs fresh thyme 2 scoops @vitalproteins collagen 1 package @eatbanza chickpea pasta 2-3 handfuls spinach salt & pepper to taste - In a large pot add olive oil, onions, and celery. Saute on medium-high until translucent. Add remaining veggies, chicken, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Saute for ~5 more minutes. Add coconut milk and water. Leave on medium-high until comes to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Allow to simmer with a low boil for ~30 minutes. Chicken will cook & you can pull apart to shred. (I cooked from frozen and this worked fine). Add collagen. Stir in pasta cook through. (Adding pasta at the end ensures it will not be overdone). Stir in spinach (will wilt pretty quickly). ✔️ - You can continue simmering on low for several hours. You can also try this in a crock pot. - Super simple + easy GF chicken noodle packed with veggies – perfect for meal prep or when you’re feeling sick. ✨ - My hack for ‘bone broth’ when you don’t have any is to add collagen, gelatin, or powdered bone broth (@vitalproteins). This is a way to incorporate all the gut healing benefits. Collagen (a component of gelatin and found in bone broth) isa good source of L-glutamine, an amino acid that helps to heal + seal the gut lining that can get compromised overtime due to things like stress, lack of certain nutrients, & chemicals in food. - What’s your favorite winter soup? ✨ #composednutrition
What if we talked to ourselves this way instead of reciting the same stories of pain and hurt and invalidation over + over? - When we change the way we talk to ourselves we raise our vibration. Our energy literally changes. - Things happen to us but it’s what we do with them, how we view them, that determines how they affect us. - We may have YEARS of old stories we’ve been telling ourselves. “I’m not good enough”, “if I could just look a certain way I would be okay”, “nobody likes me”, “I can’t be myself”. - And what I see is that these stories over time begin to manifest in our bodies. Remember: a change in our energy (our emotional/mental/spiritual space) happens before a change in our physical body. - So what is the root of imbalances going on in the body? I see digestive issues, anxiety, hormonal imbalances – but how did this happen? Is our body failing us? Why is it this way? What is the root of this? - That’s what I dig into. I love learning about the why. And while we can definitely say it’s certain habits or ways we are living our lives – were did we learn to do this? What are our core beliefs? - We grow up and we absorb the information around and develop a view of the world. Maybe somebody said something to us that determined how we view our body. Society for sure tells us how we ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t be’. - We learn to value productivity without rest. Doing more instead of restoring. We live in a state of stress and old stories that cause pain. And we’re not taught how to deal with it all. So it shows up in our bodies. - Part of the healing process in the body is healing the root causes that sometimes go beyond what simply is going on in the body but what’s going on in our emotional space or beliefs that shape our view of the world. - I see it all the time coming back to constant stress and trying to do all the things. But what if our symptoms weren’t scary but a blessing? That our body is telling us that hey something isn’t right here please look at this? - And we can start by listening to this voice instead of quieting it. We can start by speaking kind words to ourselves. You are more than you think ✨ #composednutrition
STOVETOP BERRY VANILLA CINNAMON OATS 🍓 - It’s literally 4 degrees outside here in Chicago so smoothies are out and oats are in this week for breakfast. ❄️ - I often hear mixed reviewed on oats for breakfast. They’re a great way to start the day then no they spike your blood sugar too much. What’s the deal? - My answer: pair with protein + healthy fat and make your own vs instant packets. Protein and fat help to stabilize blood sugar after a meal to prevent a spike and drop that leaves you feeling hungry an hour after eating. Another note is some people experiencing digestive issues can benefit from taking a break from grains while healing the gut. It’s so important to listen to your body and what YOU need. No one food is good or bad – it all depends on how it works for you. ✨ - RECIPE ½ cup rolled oats ¾ cup homemade cashew milk (blend ¼ cup cashews + ¾ cup water for 1-2 minutes until smooth + creamy) ½ scoop @gardenoflife vanilla protein powder 2 tsp cinnamon - Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and heat over medium until cooked. Add more water/cashew milk for creamier oats. [ you can also do this for overnight oats – combine in a small glass container and store in the fridge overnight ] Top with toppings: almond butter, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, frozen raspberries, @purely_elizabeth granola - How are you staying warm during the Polar Vortex? ⛄️#composednutrition
MATCHA MORNINGS 🍵✨ - Why choose matcha over coffee in the morning? Yes it may be super trendy, but what are the benefits? - Matcha is a type of green tea. The difference between matcha + regular green tea is that it is the whole ground tealeaf, vs infusing a tea bag with water. It still has caffeine, but has a lot less than a cup of coffee (about 30 mg caffeine in a tsp of matcha versus closer to 100 mg in an 8 oz cup of coffee). 🍵 - Matcha also has L-Theanine – an amino acid that stimulates the brain’s alpha waves so you feel a calm alertness but without that frazzled wired feeling. ☺️ - The caffeine in matcha is released slower over time compared to coffee. A lot of caffeine at once spikes the release of cortisol by our adrenals (little glands that sit on top of our kidneys like hats). Cortisol is what gets released when we’re stressed and is our ‘fight-or-flight’ hormone. - We need cortisol. It’s our get up and go hormone. We should see it highest in the morning and gradually decrease throughout the day. But there are times when we should consider taking a break or reducing caffeine: - ✔️if you feel like you absolutely NEED it to get going in the morning - ✔️feeling stressed/wired all the time - ✔️you suspect your cortisol levels are high (feeling super stressed) or low (fatigue/low energy) - ✔️you experience PMS symptoms like moodiness, cramping, anxiety - Removing or reducing caffeine (depending on what’s going on in YOUR body) for a while can create space for your body find balance. Coffee is not inherently good or bad (no one food is) – we have to look at it in through the lens of our own story and body. 🌻 - COMPOSED MATCHA LATTE RECIPE 🍵 1 tsp matcha @wildfoodsco 1 scoop collagen peptides @vitalproteins ½ tsp cinnamon 1 Tbsp coconut butter @artisanaorganics 12-16 oz hot, not boiling water - Feeling stressed + wondering if you should reduce your caffeine intake? Schedule a free intro call see how we can work together to find peace in your body ✨ #composednutrition
SUNDAYS ARE FOR GF PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP WAFFLES ✔️✨ - I used to be a home health dietitian. I would go to patients’ homes and educate them on nutrition for diabetes management. I had a sweet, tiny 90-year-old patient and we would go over what she typically eats. She loved going to Old Country Buffet for lunch with her husband and Eggos for breakfast – she would always call them ‘wafflers’. So now @deanlarbi and I can’t help but call them wafflers. 😂 - RECIPE ½ cup @traderjoes GF all purpose flour ¼ cup coconut flour ¼ cup ground flax ¼ cup rolled oats 1 Tbsp cacao powder 1 tsp baking powder ¼ cup pumpkin puree 1 egg (or sub flax egg for vegan) ~¾  cup homemade cashew milk (blend ¼ cup cashews with ¾ cup water for 1 minute) additional water as needed chocolate chips - mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until batter consistency. heat waffle iron + spray with coconut oil. scoop ¼ - ½ cup batter per waffle. sprinkle with chocolate chips before closing iron. makes 2 waffles. (I have the @cuisinart Double Belgian Waffler Maker) - top with: almond butter drizzle, frozen blueberries, pecans, unsweetened coconut flakes, chocolate chips, coconut nectar (or sub maple syrup), sunflower seeds - Are you team waffles or team pancakes? ✨ #composednutrition
REMEMBER ✨ - You are more than stories your mind creates. - You have the POWER to change the narrative. - Things happen and it’s our BELIEFS that determine how we respond. - How does this relate to nutrition + what I do? - We all have stories in our head about the ‘shoulds’: I should look a certain way, eat this food + not that food, follow this trend or diet, exercise every single day, if I don’t do X then ___ will happen. And it drives us absolutely crazy because when we have all of these shoulds in our head, these ideas start to drive the ship. But remember this is a narrative. A story. Something maybe we’ve been telling ourselves for years and years. And it’s comfortable. Even if it’s painful. We keep coming back to these ideas because we think it’s what we have to do. To be okay, or to be perfect, or accepted, or loved. - But what if we said f*ck it to all of the noise? The noise that keeps us stuck or feeling like we have to contort ourselves into this one image of perfection we hold in our heads that is not attainable but we keep pushing ourselves to achieve? We can let go. We can let go of the idea that we are either healthy or not healthy, being good or bad, on or off, perfect or not perfect. We can find our center + be in the flow. - Where can you let go? Where can you release beliefs that are not longer serving you? - Journaling tip to get started: If you’ve seen Tidying Up on Netflix, Marie Kondo always starts her process by pulling out every single item (ex: clothes) so you can see all of what you have. It triggers an emotional response and you can start to look at each thing one by one and let go of what no longer serves. In this same way do a journaling brain dump. Write out all of the thoughts, beliefs, ‘shoulds’ that you feel are keeping you stuck from living the life or having the relationship with food or your body that you want to have. - Look at each item. Which spark joy? Which can you say thank you and goodbye to? 🌻 #composednutrition